A machine park only delivers the best results with perfect task planning and control. In modern production facilities, Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) is used for this purpose, which uses an extensive database to utilize the capacity of the systems, because only a productive machine is a sustainable machine. So far, however, one module has been missing to make the system even more efficient: information from the sensor / actuator level. A lot of data accumulates there, which SMC and iTAC make usable for the first time with a jointly developed solution for the MOM and thus, for example, create the basis for automated detection and prediction of production problems in real time.
From the sensor to the MOM
Sometimes everything is already there and just needs to be brought together: Many manufacturing companies use a production management system to control and utilize their production. In addition, numerous data are read out and collected on the sensor / actuator level. Together they result in new possibilities for condition monitoring, maintenance strategy and energy saving. “Sensor data is used to monitor machines and their components and can, for example, detect increased compressed air consumption at an early stage. However, they are subject to large fluctuations depending on the product type, so that predetermined threshold values are often unsuitable for determining the system status alone, ”says Oliver Prang, Digital Business Development at SMC.
This is where the new solution from SMC, specialist in pneumatic and electrical automation technology,and MOM manufacturer iTAC: The data is integrated into the MOM, which relates it to product and machine information and interprets it accordingly. The result is the basis for automatically recognizing and predicting production problems in real time, for example, or for optimized production planning in order to avoid expensive peak loads.
Compressed air in particular is a high cost factor in production. “Undetected leaks in the compressed air system in production can lead to increased and expensive air pressure consumption and, if necessary, unexpected production disruptions or downtimes,” explains Peter Bollinger, CEO of iTAC Software AG. “If there is an increased demand in the compressed air system due to a leak, the compressor has to use more energy to ensure the compressed air supply. Such a malfunction often goes unnoticed and thus leads to unnecessary costs.
”Production planning that is not optimally geared towards compressed air consumption also generates undesirable and expensive peak loads. In addition, a fluctuating compressed air flow can have an extremely negative effect on production quality.If you now combine the data from the sensor / actuator level with that of the MOM and use this to determine dynamic warning thresholds for various system parameters, you can record abnormal operating states, reduce energy consumption or initiate maintenance work at an early stage.
Familiar environment with great added value
SMC brings its high level of expertise in the shop floor area of sensors and actuators to the innovative collaboration, and iTAC brings its many years of know-how in the area of control and optimization of production processes using MOM. “With our jointly developed solution, SMC transfers the data from the sensors to an IoT platform via a gateway, combines them with the corresponding data in the MOM and processes them with modern algorithms.
The ‘iTAC.MOM.Suite’ also accesses the IoT platform and uses the analyzed and processed data for the sustainable improvement of production, ”says Oliver Prang. The IoT platform is both cloud and on-premise capable. A hybrid approach can optionally be selected for maximum flexibility. “Our meaningful real-time monitoring enables companiesdetermine the actual status of your system, reduce energy consumption and identify production problems at an early stage. And since the application is part of the iTAC Suite, the user can continue to work in his familiar software environment – with optimized data for consistently high quality in stable production, ”says Peter Bollinger.